The present invention relates to an electric iron with a soleplate that contains a soleplate tip, and that has at least one opening symmetrical to a center line that divides the soleplate in the center beginning at the soleplate tip. This opening is located in the soleplate and in the area of the soleplate tip and allows a liquid that is stored in a liquid tank system to pass through and moisten materials to be ironed. The liquid exits the opening in the form of liquid droplets that are generated using a piezoelectric excitation atomizer device above the soleplate.
An electric iron of the type mentioned above is known from the German Patent No. DE-A1 43 10 273.
In household applications, the best ironing results, that is, optimum smoothness with minimum time spent, are achieved with steam irons or steam iron stations. The steam performance of the steam irons is around 10-30 g/minute and that of the steam stations up to 60 g/minute. The generated steam serves two purposes: as a convective heat transfer medium and to moisten the material to be ironed. Both functions are essential for smoothing natural fibers such as cotton, linen and wool. However, to achieve optimum ironing results, a so-called ironing humidity of about 15 percent in weight is required.
Such results are only achieved using very time-consuming classical sprinkling of the laundry with water by hand prior to ironing. Here, the disadvantages are uneven distribution and difficult metering.
With conventional steam ironing devices, the ironing humidity required for optimum ironing results is not achieved, even at a high steam performance, because condensation no longer takes place at temperatures of 100.degree. C. in the fabric, a temperature that is exceeded significantly when passing over the fabric with the iron. In addition, a major portion of the steam passes through the material to be ironed without being utilized and leads, in general, to an unpleasant work environment.
An additional disadvantage of steam irons is that the user needs to apply so-called ironing aids such as starch, gliding improvers, scents, finishing agents, etc., to the material to be ironed in a separate operation.
Direct inclusion of these ironing aids in the water tank for the steam production is not feasible because vaporizing will make these aids ineffective. In addition, the resultant deposits in the evaporation chamber would destroy the ironing devices over time.
To avoid all these disadvantages, in the iron disclosed in the German Patent No. DE-A1 43 10 273, liquid droplets are generated using a piezoelectric converter. The generation of the liquid droplets occurs in a large-dimensioned evaporation chamber that is open on the side of the ironing surface, where the chamber is surrounded, frame-like, by the heated soleplate. The disadvantage with this known iron is, however, that the heated part of the soleplate does not have a sufficient surface area, due to the very large evaporation chamber, to sufficiently smooth the difficult-to-smooth natural fabrics and to dry the moistened fabric to be ready for hanging in the closet. An additional disadvantage is, that objects attached to the material to be ironed, such as buttons, can get caught in the evaporation chamber and tear off.
Another iron is known from the East German Patent No. DD-PS 214 404. With this iron, the atomization occurs in a separate aerosol chamber where an electromechanical ultrasound atomizer system is located. Using an externally controllable advancement device, the aerosol is then advanced to an additional distribution chamber and from there to individual aerosol distribution channels that end in aerosol exit openings located in the soleplate. With such a design, there is the danger that the aerosol condenses on the walls of the flow channels or that the individual aerosol droplets form larger drops along the flow path from the interior aerosol chamber to the exit openings, such that large liquid drops exit from the exit openings in the soleplate. This causes spots saturated with liquid on the material to be ironed that do not dry during the normal ironing procedure.
A steam iron with a pot evaporator designed in the shape of a disk is known from the German Patent Publication No. DE-AS 10 87 107. In this iron, the steam flows such that the water supply cannot get to the openings in the soleplate where the steam exits, even at various positions of the iron. The openings in the soleplate where the steam exits during ironing are arranged in a circle with circular cross-sections or cross-sections in the shape of elongated holes.
The European Patent No. EP-A1 0 358 310 deals with a steam iron where the openings in the soleplate are distributed such that they are either located on a centerline that divides the soleplate in the center beginning at the soleplate tip, or are located parallel to this line. These openings are provided in the shape of elongated holes or slots; in one embodiment, a single opening is provided approximately at the center of the soleplate.